What can I do to improve energy levels and get rid of muscle fatigue? I take 30mg of cortef per day and florinef too along w synthroid. It doesn't matter how much I sleep but generally I've always had issues with insomnia as well. Any tips? Thanks!

I've had addission's since 2003 and im 33 years old. I am 6'4" and at the time I lost 40 lbs ... now I'm back to my normal weight (175) after about 4 years of trying everything to gain my strength back...

I try to exercise (running / lifting weights) but sometimes I feel like my muscles have no energy and my arms are a lot skinnier than they used to be... (especially around my elbows & knees) how do I gain this muscle back? there has been a bit of atrophy and wasting and I'm hoping I can get most of it back some how... My appetite is ferocious but it doesn't seem to do anything except add inches to my waist line... lol Any advise would be great! thanks

Also one thing that I've found that helps (with its drawbacks) is licorice root and nettle root... The licorice helps the liver absorb more cortisol but it also ups the amount of estrogen in the body that gets aromatized... so there is a bit of an issue with that but the fact that it does help me feel better - I'd rather not have to take this at all but it is what it is......

Sometimes I feel so drained that it doesn't seem to matter what I take...

Sorry regarding delay in response. When do you take the cortef? Do you think you're on the correct synthroid dose? Too much synthroid can cause weight loss. Have you been screened for diabetes? You have higher risk with adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism so it's something to watch out for.

gkardel wrote:Sorry regarding delay in response. When do you take the cortef? Do you think you're on the correct synthroid dose? Too much synthroid can cause weight loss. Have you been screened for diabetes? You have higher risk with adrenal insufficiency and hypothyroidism so it's something to watch out for.

-- Glenn

I take the cortef at lunch time... and my dr said my synthroid actually might need to be increased instead of decreased. from 75 to 88... and yes I've been screened for diabetes my blood sugar is normal most of the time (unless I haven't eaten in more than 6+ hrs).... I have found that taking anavar and excersizing has helped A LOT - i have gained at least 10 lbs of solid muscle mass... I just need to keep on the cardio and weights!

Your cortef dosing may be the culprit of your fatigue. Taking your entire dose of cortef at one time and later in the day is definitely not going to optimize how you feel. A common dosing regimen is to take 2/3 of the total daily dose right when you wake up and remaining third split between a lunchtime dose and late afternoon dose. The goal is to mimic the cortisol (what cortef replaces) production cycle as best as possible. Normally, cortisol production starts to ramp up several hours before waking and should be peaking when you wake up. It then declines to smaller peaks at lunchtime and late afternoon and then stays at low levels from evening to early morning.

You're also on a higher dose than what's usually recommended. There's a variance in how people respond to cortef but you should try to get by on a smaller dose (~20mg per day) as this will minimize risk of side effects.

Several timed released versions of cortef (called chronocort and duocort) are being developed which will hopefully better mimic cortisol. There's also a time released version of prednisone called ledotra that's been release in Canada and should be out soon in the US. One forum member is using it and has reported good results so far.